Post by braver April 10, 2006 (1 of 11)
|
|
I've seen Rostropovich conduct Seattle Symphony yesterday, performing Shostakovich's 1st and Prokofiev's 5th. Both were great -- and the guy's 79. I'd seen him in Philadelphia for his 75th birthday, conducting Philadelphia Orchestra at Kimmel Center -- and now he looks even better!
So I wonder what people think about LSO recordings of Rostropovich conducting Shostakovich symphonies? On the one hand, I'm tempted to get the Capriccio box set and "be done with it" for a while, given the good reviews it has here, -- but on the other, I'm afraid I can miss out on some marvels -- what do you think?
|
|
|
Post by Claude April 10, 2006 (2 of 11)
|
|
Before getting the complete Kitaenko set, you might wait for the very promising Shostakovich symphony series on Pentatone to progress:
January 2006:
Shostakovich - Symphony No.11, Op.103 "The Year 1905"
Russian National Orchestra
Mikhail Pletnev
February:
Shostakovich - Symphonies No.1, Op.10 & No.6, Op.53
Russian National Orchestra
Vladimir Jurowski
Mai:
Shostakovich - Symphony No.8
Russian National Orchestra
Paavo Berglund
I have the Rostropovich 11th, and I find it too slow. An interesting view, but just not my cup of tea.
|
|
|
Post by braver April 10, 2006 (3 of 11)
|
|
I've seen Pletnev conduct here, and I'm not impressed very much.
What do you think of Kitaenko recordings vs. LSO/Rostropovich's?
|
|
|
Post by fafnir April 10, 2006 (4 of 11)
|
|
Claude said:
Before getting the complete Kitaenko set, you might wait for the very promising Shostakovich symphony series on Pentatone to progress:
January 2006:
Shostakovich - Symphony No.11, Op.103 "The Year 1905"
Russian National Orchestra
Mikhail Pletnev
February:
Shostakovich - Symphonies No.1, Op.10 & No.6, Op.53
Russian National Orchestra
Vladimir Jurowski
Mai:
Shostakovich - Symphony No.8
Russian National Orchestra
Paavo Berglund
I have the Rostropovich 11th, and I find it too slow. An interesting view, but just not my cup of tea.
The Pentatone Shostakovich 1 & 6 are IMHO are both excellent performances and extremely well-recorded. I unfortunately purchased both the Rostropovich 8 & 11; both performances are flacid and soporific and the recordings have the usual LSO problems.
I will purchase the Berglund 8 when it arrives in May. The performance and recording of No. 11 with Lazarev on LINN is extraordinary, but some have objected to the faster than usual pace of the slow movement.
|
|
|
Post by Claude April 11, 2006 (5 of 11)
|
|
braver said:
What do you think of Kitaenko recordings vs. LSO/Rostropovich's?
I only have the Kitaenko 8th and the Rostropovich/LSO 11th, so I cannot compare both conductors.
I like the Kitaenko 8th, although my favourites are still Haitink on Decca (CD) and Sanderling on Berlin Classics (available on japanese SACD but I only have the budget CD).
|
|
|
Post by Peter April 11, 2006 (6 of 11)
|
|
Claude said:
I only have the Kitaenko 8th and the Rostropovich/LSO 11th, so I cannot compare both conductors.
I like the Kitaenko 8th, although my favourites are still Haitink on Decca (CD) and Sanderling on Berlin Classics (available on japanese SACD but I only have the budget CD).
Picking a set on SACD isn't easy! Can't help with Kitaenko, but I do have Rostro doing the 8th on LSO; it's very intense and must have been (I've read the reviews) a gripping concert. It is quite slow, much more so than Mravinsky (Philips) though that is I either transferred slightly sharp or tuned slightly sharp. I wouldn't be without either as they are so different. Barshai is excellent, too.
Being greedy, I confess I'm going to get Berglund on Pentatone (and Jurowski's 1 and 6). Not decided on the 11th - it's not a work I warm to, and I suspect I'd want Rostro and Pletnev.
Listened yesterday at long last to the BBC mag's Shost 15th (Sinaisky) - excellent - I'll keep that, (unlike this month's offering of Pergolesi sung too much out of tune, and nearly boring.)
|
|
|
Post by drdanfee November 23, 2006 (7 of 11)
|
|
braver said:
I've seen Rostropovich conduct Seattle Symphony yesterday, performing Shostakovich's 1st and Prokofiev's 5th. Both were great -- and the guy's 79. I'd seen him in Philadelphia for his 75th birthday, conducting Philadelphia Orchestra at Kimmel Center -- and now he looks even better!
So I wonder what people think about LSO recordings of Rostropovich conducting Shostakovich symphonies? On the one hand, I'm tempted to get the Capriccio box set and "be done with it" for a while, given the good reviews it has here, -- but on the other, I'm afraid I can miss out on some marvels -- what do you think?
So far nobody's complete set of the Shostakovich symphonies is wholly recommendable. I appreciate the Brillian reg red book CD set by Barshai/CologneRSO, along with the Kitaenko/CologneRSO as much as anybody. I know that Rostropovich is said to have had a special relationship with the composer, but I so far find his recordings wanting. The reg CD complete set with the LSO on Teldec was hit and miss, and the new SACD set emerging on LSO Live also seems unattractive. I tried the 11th symphony in SACD, for example, and found the extreme sound levels too hard to manage. The opening 11th starts off so soft or intangible that while it may have generated effecgive atmosphere in the live concert, in my home system it just annoyed me that I had to increase the volume to get the desired effect, then turn everything down when the rest of the orchestra really got going.
I am also following the Pentatone set emerging, and the Oleg Caetani set on ARTS, some of which are in reg CD, DVD-audio multichannel, and SACD. I have the 11th, and just ordered the 1/15 sym by Caetani in SACD.
So far my fav Shostakovich interpretations have actually come from reg red book CD recordings - Semyon Bychkov with the BerlinSO now out of print. His BerlinSO recordings of 5, 8, 11 are simply outstanding and wear long and well as interpretations. I haven't heard his new CologneRSO sym 11 in superaudio yet. I was disappointed by his brahms SACD set for any number of reasons.
I like the Caetani discs for their sheer brilliance, and I think they may be keepers, next to the Barshai and Kitaenko/Cologne sets.
|
|
|
Post by krisjan November 23, 2006 (8 of 11)
|
|
The Haitink set on London/Decca is really very good. It was recorded with two orchestras (Concertgebouw and London Phil) and the RBCD sound is very, very good throughout. The set is apparently still available ($85 from Arkiv). I have used the 3rd mvmt from the 8th symphony from this set as a test CD when evaluating audio gear for years.
|
|
|
Post by Claude November 24, 2006 (9 of 11)
|
|
krisjan said:
I have used the 3rd mvmt from the 8th symphony from this set as a test CD when evaluating audio gear for years.
Me too! It's the most spectacular interpretation I've heard of this movement.
The Haitink CD set has been reissued in cheaper versions as well.
http://www.amazon.de/Die-Sinfonien-Bernard-Cgo-Haitink/dp/B000F3T7RO/
His 11th is also an extremely dynamic interpretation and recording, although it clearly suffers from early PCM flaws.
|
|
|
Post by stvnharr November 25, 2006 (10 of 11)
|
|
krisjan said:
I have used the 3rd mvmt from the 8th symphony from this set as a test CD when evaluating audio gear for years.
Have you listened to Andrew Litton's Delos recording of the 8th? It has quite better sound than the early digital Haitink recording.
Until sacd came along, I used the 3rd movement of the Litton as a comparative evaluator.
|
|
